Tuesday, May 16, 2006

From Flutie to Fox to the Firing Irish

Doug Flutie is headed to a TV near you. It was announced during his retirement from the New England Patriots that he would be a college football analyst for ABC and ESPN this fall. ABC is scrambling after losing Aaron Taylor, Lynn Swann, Gary Danielson and, of course, the great Keith Jackson. ESPN's "College Football Gameday" never recovered from the firing of Trev Alberts. It's unclear exactly what Flutie will be doing for ABC/ESPN, but he did profess his love for the college game. "College football seems the better fit for me," he said. "There's a lot of cynicism in the NFL, and I don't want to have to be one of those guys who is always looking for negatives and ripping people to make a name for myself in the media." By the way Doug, we have news for you. ABC/ESPN is part of the media, and now so are you. ... We aren't done talking about the people who bring you the games. Fox has unveiled its Bowl Championship Series logo (thanks to MDG for getting us up to speed on this development). Not sure if the logo includes Fox attitude, but you be the judge. Finally, Hall of Fame radio play-by-play announcer Tony Roberts is out after calling Notre Dame games for 26 years. Roberts said he was fired by Westwood One Radio, which has rights to the games, and that he learned his fate by a teleconference. Nice. ... Roberts is being replaced by Don Criqui. Thanks to reader Kevin for the tip on the Firing Irish (some registration).